Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 15 - Distressed_1

Chapter 15: Chapter 15 Distressed_1

Chapter 15: Chapter 15 Distressed_1

Manjiang smiled as he sat by the stove, inserting a handful of grass into it and said, “After my son leaves, Mother must take care of her health. Father is seriously ill, and my sister is still young, while Yueyue is in that condition. From now on, the family will rely on Mother. Your son is unfilial and lacks the ability to marry a healthy wife to help ease my parents’ worries. Instead, Yueyue will have to rely on Mother’s care…”

Lady Wu knew her son was worried about his young wife and said, “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who brought Yueyue into our family. I know you hold your wife dear to your heart, and seeing you two so affectionate makes me happy as well. Rest assured, both your father and I like Yueyue, and we will treat her as if she is our own daughter. We will treat her just as we treat Xiaxia.”

Manjiang laughed shyly, “Thank you, Mother. Actually, Yueyue is quite smart. She just forgot about the past. Mother, please teach her more in the future. She can still help around the house.”

Lady Wu nodded, “Yueyue is a good child, kindhearted, and hardworking… It would be even better if she could bear a child for the Qian family.”

Manjiang’s face turned red, thinking to himself that they had tried their best, but he didn’t know if they had succeeded.

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After dinner, with a backpack, Manjiang, accompanied by Lady Wu, went to the village to meet with others. They were led by the village head to the county to meet up before heading to Xizhou Mansion together.

Qian Sangui pushed himself up to the gate of the main house, while Cheng Yue and Qian Manxia, crying, accompanied him to the gate of the courtyard, where Manjiang stopped them from going any further.

Stepping out the yard gate, Manjiang turned around and knelt before Qian Sangui and Lady Wu, bowing three times with tears streaming down his face, saying, “I am an unfilial son, unable to stay by my parents’ side to show filial respect.” He also looked at Cheng Yue, who was crying like a tearful person, and gave three more bows, as if he had a bellyful of words that he could not express.

Lady Wu knew what was in her son’s heart and said while crying, “Manjiang, rest easy. Your father and I will treat Yueyue just as well as our own daughter.”

Having heard this, Manjiang got up crying and helped Lady Wu start walking toward the village.

Watching their receding figures, they turned around to wave at the family from time to time until they disappeared into the morning glow. Cheng Yue and Qian Manxia hugged each other and wept, while Qian Sangui stood at the door, silently shedding tears.

In the corner of the wall, Qian Yixiu was also grieving silently, praying for their smart and handsome father-in-law to return safely.

With Manjiang’s departure, it seemed as if the laughter had left their home too, making the atmosphere extremely oppressive. Qian Sangui’s illness worsened a bit, and he could not get up from bed. Cheng Yue did some simple housework and spent time watching wildflowers through the crack of the door when she had nothing to do. Lady Wu turned her grief into strength, staying spirited to look after the entire family.

However, that wasn’t the worst of it; the most distressing thing was some of the rumors that were spreading.

In the neighboring villages, it was rumored that Qian’s third wife had married a wife who looked like an angel but was simple-minded. Although most people had never seen her and didn’t know what someone as beautiful as an angel would look like, because they had not seen her, that left them with a rich imagination, making them even more eager to catch a glimpse of her.

As a result, on the west side of the not-so-populous Huaxi Village, several people occasionally appeared, hoping for a chance encounter with the beauty. However, that beauty never left her house, and the two large gates were always tightly shut.

There were also some people with ulterior motives who visited Qian’s third wife. But, let alone strangers, even when relatives came, Cheng Yue always hid in her own room and refused to come out, so these people could not catch sight of her.

In reality, the only people who had ever seen Cheng Yue’s true face were a few family friends who had come when they got married. At that time, Qian Sangui had instructed them not to spread rumors, but there are no walls that do not let some rumors pass through, and the story that his family had a beautiful but simple-minded daughter-in-law still spread through the villages.

Fortunately, the local villagers were simple and straightforward. Some rural men might privately utter some crude remarks, but they didn’t dare to do anything serious. Most importantly, Manjiang had gone to the front lines to fight in the war, and he was regarded as someone fiercely battling for the Imperial Court. To tease the wife of a soldier who was at war was a crime that could result in imprisonment.

Only four or five loafers, unsatisfied, would often linger outside the courtyard. They didn’t dare to make any serious moves, so they resorted to contemptible acts like imitating dog barks and cat meows or hurling lewd comments at the young wives.

The Qian family was helpless and had to swallow their anger, ignoring the harassment. As a result, they even kept two dogs, but one died after a few days, and the other ran away. The yard of Qian’s third wife was then mockingly referred to by the villagers as a place “even dogs disdain.”

The Qian family was always worried that if they really encountered some brazen villain with a heart blackened by desire, who might kidnap someone or violate someone in the middle of the night, what could they do? Old woman Qian couldn’t stand it, feeling that Lady Wu had paid a high price for a hot potato. Every now and then, she would go to the third wife’s house to scold Lady Wu and Cheng Yue to vent her anger, scaring Cheng Yue into hiding in her room, crying bitterly.

The situation only changed more than a month later. That day was the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of August. Households with some surplus would go to the town or the county to buy mooncakes, while the poorer ones made their own sugar pancakes as a substitute. Qian’s third wife belonged to those who could only afford to make the sugar pancakes.

Prudent Lady Wu did not make sugar pancakes that morning, but as usual, served corn cakes and sweet potato coarse rice porridge. She made a bowl of noodles for the ailing Qian Sangui, topped with a poached egg and a sprinkle of chopped green onions, producing an enticing aroma.

Usually, it was Lady Wu who brought the meals to the bedroom for Qian Sangui to eat in bed. Today, feeling somewhat better, Qian Sangui was supported by Lady Wu to the main room to eat with everyone.

“Tonight, we’ll make sugar pancakes and enjoy them while watching the moon,” Lady Wu said, picking up a bowl.

Qian Manxia, always understanding, said, “Okay, mom’s sugar pancakes are as fragrant as the mooncakes sold in town.”

For some reason, today Cheng Yue found the smell of the egg noodles particularly enticing, and watching her father-in-law eat bite after bite made her mouth water uncontrollably. She knew it was not proper and quite embarrassing, so she tried hard to resist, not to look at the bowl of noodles, and to suppress the urge to reach out for a chopstickful. She nibbled on her corn cake with her head down, but the sound of her swallowing and the occasional glances at Qian Sangui betrayed her.

After Manjiang left, Lady Wu thought that Cheng Yue wouldn’t have to work so hard, so she also stopped supplying her with eggs.

Cheng Yue’s craving made Qian Yixiu feel embarrassed from her corner. “Little mom could have concealed it better. That look doesn’t suit your graceful appearance at all.”

Qian Sangui sighed and moved the untouched poached egg into Cheng Yue’s bowl.

Though somewhat naive, Cheng Yue valued her dignity. Embarrassed that her cravings had been noticed, her face turned bright red, and tears welled up in her eyes.

With her mouth pressed thin, she said, “Yueyue isn’t greedy, I just couldn’t resist…” Then, she pushed her bowl forward, “Dad, you’re not well, you eat it.”

Seeing Cheng Yue’s gaunt face and unusually large eyes, Lady Wu sighed and said, “If your dad gives it to you, just eat it,” as she pushed the bowl back.

Cheng Yue looked at Qian Sangui, then at the egg. She really wanted to eat it, and so she began. But after one bite, she found the egg tasted too fishy, her stomach turned, and she threw up.

………………………

Father-in-law finally left, and Qing Quan actually felt reluctant to see him go. The father-in-law of nowadays was so much better, handsome, and single-minded.

Thank you to Lifelike Water, Milan Two’s sachet, thanks to Hera@Qianlin, Fool Fool Fool’s purse, and thanks for everyone’s messages and recommendations. Wenwen’s performance today isn’t bad, reaching the top ten in the new book rankings. Thank you all, it’s your support that has brought Wenwen this success. Once again asking for clicks, recommendations, and favorites to keep Wenwen in the top ten.